Things we give to others
by Cocoa987
Summary: "Secrets are things we give to others to keep for us." Pirates, soda, horses, sisters, brothers, hopes, fears, dreams, and all the things that only our best friends know. 50 things that only Ben knows about Riley.  Now with the request-fics!
1. 50 Things

**This is my somewhat-belated Christmas present to you all, loosely based off **_**InnocentGuilt**_**'s Butterfly Verse (Star Trek 2009), which is lovely and deserves a read if you don't mind a bit of slash.**

**But anyway.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. References are made to LoremIpsum's Memories, I think (because I've read that story way too many times), and also save changes to normal's Closed Break, if only because I love the idea that Ben and Riley went to college together.**

**(pagebreak)**

1. Riley has a sweet tooth that can't possibly be healthy. Skittles, gum, gummy bears, Smarties, Kit-Kats- you name it, he'll eat it. He's even been known to nick some chocolate from Abigail's stash on occasion.

2. On the three most important debates, Riley falls in the following three camps: Pepsi, Ninja, and Google.

3. No, seriously, Riley refused to look at Ben until he made a midnight run to the nearest gas station for a six-pack of Mt. Dew, because they had work to do and Riley refused to step foot in Bens apartment until the abomination that was Mellow Yellow was eradicated. Ian was furious. Shaw laughed until he cried.

4. Riley is kind of, sort of, just a little bit ambidextrous. Ben only noticed it during finals season, when their psycho Composition teacher made them turn in a handwritten draft of their essay, and he couldn't decide if Riley's handwriting kept switching or he was just hallucinating from lack of sleep.

5. He has this weird habit of hanging upside-down off things, like beds and chairs and couches. He also has this habit of falling asleep in said position, and Ben can't begin to comprehend how he can be so relaxed with all the blood rushing to his head.

6. Riley sings in the shower when he thinks there's nobody else around. Ben is never quite sure on the song choices, but he always has to keep himself from humming whatever part of the song he heard later.

7. For as long as he can remember, Riley has taken Ben's shirts without asking. He doesn't really know why, but after the one time he caught Riley strolling around in the dead of winter with only a tshirt and jeans on because his hoodie had been destroyed beyond repair, he stopped making a fuss. (besides, he will admit, they're really comfortable)

8. Riley's favorite number is eight. (well, other than forty-two) Ben can't fathom why.

9. Green is his favorite color, and he has a pair of fluorescent green Converses he'll wear every once in a while, so bright they'll make Ben's eyes hurt if he stares at then too long.

10. Riley kind of, sort of failed his history class freshman year. He made up for it the following summer, with the help of three juniors that would have otherwise failed pre-calc.

11. Riley's middle name is James, after his grandfather (on his mother's side)

12. For a while he knew Riley as Jamie, right around when they met in college. He switched to James shortly after, and Riley after graduation, but every once in a while he'll still slip up and call the younger man 'Jamie'

13. Riley was born in California, and consequently had never seen snow until he moved to the East Coast.

14. Riley was born on July 7th. He didn't manage to figure it out until 2007, the day that Riley's book came out (because that was really too awesome of a date to miss) and he whined about having to sign books on his birthday instead of partying.

15. Riley was an incredibly smart kid, one of those kids taking classes with people years older than him, which resulted in him getting accepted into college three semesters early (history could only hold him back for so long, after all.)

16. He first learned how to use a computer for less-than-legal purposes when he was seven, and his big brother taught him how to rewrite his computer game so he couldn't lose. It was awesome, and he later figured out how to rework it so his brother couldn't win, which was just as awesome.

17. Ben's about 80% sure that Riley spent most of his teenage years in his beat-up red van. It always seemed like Riley was constantly on the move, and the clutter hastily shoved in the back whenever they drove out to find something helped confirm Ben's suspicions.

18. Riley's big brother Josh is four years older than Ben, which makes him a nearly twenty years older than Riley. They don't talk much, but as far as Ben can tell Josh is the closest thing to family that Riley's got.

19. Heights tend to pose a problem for Riley. It's not that he's scared of them- not really. He has no problem with the good views. It's more that he's terrified of falling. It causes difficulty when they're going down a rickety staircase into what feels like a bottomless pit.

20. When he thinks no one is looking, Riley will bite his lip or clench his fist or kick at a rock, nothing too noticeable but just enough to cause a jolt of pain, and that's always just enough to pull him out of whatever thoughts are plaguing him.

21. Riley hasn't touched a drop of alcohol since he turned twenty-three. At parties and fancy little gatherings he'll stuck with punch or soda or water, if there's nothing else. He claims it's because he doesn't like the taste, but that doesn't account for the way he gets tenser the more Ben and Abigail drink.

22. That being said, Riley is kind of, sort of, a little bit of a caffeine junkie. His poison of choice is nearly always fizzy, but some mornings when he isn't paying attention his favorite coffee mug will go missing and Riley'll be sitting across the table with a sleepy-smug look on his face.

23. Riley was number-two singles on the high school tennis team. (Yeah, Ben doesn't know either.)

24. He never took a foreign language, but he's fluent enough in Shakespearean English, Elvish, French, and Klingon to leave you with the vague feeling that you've just been thoroughly insulted.

25. Riley doesn't believe in Santa Clause. He'll believe in almost anything else- ghosts, UFOs, the Tooth Fairy- but he'll roll his eyes every Christmas Eve when they lay out a plate of cookies.

26. That being said, Riley kind of, sort of, just a little bit loves to bake. When it comes to actual cooking he sticks to the basics, but give him a bit of flour and chocolate and he'll whip up the best batch of brownies the Gates family has ever tasted.

27. Riley idolizes Johnny Depp, nearly as much as Abigail does. Ben doesn't get it, but they both insist that 'it's not weird if it's Johnny Depp'.

28. For sixth months during their second year in college (Riley was going for his first degree, Ben for his Master's) Riley was best friends with a foreign exchange student (Aiden) from Ireland. They still email pretty regularly, and every so often Riley will burst out into an Irish accent that will often confuse the recipient enough for him to make his escape. (It drives Abigail insane.)

29. Riley is kind of, sort of, just a little bit (ok, a lot) claustrophobic. They both still have nightmares about the time that Riley got trapped alone in an elevator.

30. He has this eye for detail that never fails to amaze Ben. The kid can't remember to eat three meals a day, but he can remember the license plate of Ian's getaway car.

31. Riley knows every line from The Princess Bride. Apparently it's a 'classic'.

32. On that note, Riley can spout random quotes infinitely. Ben has no idea where he gets them, but it always seems like he has the perfect quote for whatever situation.

33. Riley honestly never stops talking. He'll talk and talk and talk just to make sure that there's no quiet, because he can't stand quiet. If it's unimportant, he'll talk about it for hours- he complained about a splinter from their Templar adventure for months. It's when Riley goes quiet that Ben starts to worry.

34. Because here's the thing- Riley won't shut up as long as the subject is stupid or trivial or not related to him. But when things start to hit home, when something's _wrong_, Riley'll go dead silent, and Ben won't be able to get him to talk. If he's really hurt, he won't say anything, and then Ben fills up the silence with desperate attempts to make everything alright before it's too late.

35. Sometimes Ben is convinced that Riley stopped ageing the day he turned seventeen. It might be because of his clothes, which never quite make the jump to formal, or it might be his utter lack of tact, but mostly it's the way he'll light up over the smallest things, and Ben wonders if he ever really had a childhood.

36. Riley has this stupid sort of love for t-shirts with funny sayings on them. Abigail's personal favorites are the Mario ones, but Ben holds a soft spot for the Pac-man shirt.

37. Riley is one of the country's youngest millionaires- turns out half a percent can get you pretty far- but he is a _total_ Scrooge when it comes to spending.

38. That being said, Riley has four nieces and nephews out West, and he spoils them rotten.

39. Riley knows how to ride a horse. Mostly because he bought one of aforementioned nieces a pony. He fell off only once but once was enough for Abigail to take an astonishing amount of pictures and hide them somewhere where he couldn't find them.

40. He has named each and every one of his laptops. His latest one is named Kylie, the one before that Miguel, and his first one ever Shelley, after his favorite babysitter.

41. He has a Facebook, a Twitter, a Formspring, a Youtube, two blogs, but not a Myspace, because "nobody ever goes on Myspace anymore"

42. This one isn't much of a secret, but Riley is a total geek. He's familiar with the 'verses of both Star Wars and Star Trek, with a little of Doctor Who thrown in on the side.

43. Riley's big brother is fairly well-known in the directing world, so every time he gets the chance Riley'll fly across the country to go to a premiere or some other event. He's been to Comic-Con half a dozen times and dragged Ben twice. Ben had never seen Riley look more at home.

44. Riley used to have a mom, a dad, and two younger sisters. He doesn't anymore, and Ben can't imagine how much that hurts.

45. On really bad days when he can't bear to go home, Riley can be found in one of two places: curled up in the apple tree in the back yard, or underneath Ben's ancient desk. He'll have something else with him, a book or his laptop or his iPod or something to distract him. But he'll also have a tiny stuffed pink rabbit, tucked away underneath his arm where he thinks nobody else can see it. Ben hasn't ever had the heart to ask about it, but he knows enough to make some educated guesses.

46. He loves nearly every kind of music, from classical to rock to blues to almost anything but country, but for some bizarre reason, Riley has this inexplicable fascination with nineties pop.

47. Riley can pick locks. Not just the electronic security kind like Ben has installed, but regular locks that need a key. He even has a little kit- Ben caught him one time hunched in front of a closet trying to find his birthday presents.

48. Riley (kind of, sort of, a little bit) has no comprehension of privacy. It's not like he walks in at bad times (although he had done that at least once), it's that he's a cuddler. It's not much- an arm draped around Ben's shoulders, a hand lingering around Abigail's waist- and with anyone else, it'd be awkward or just flat-out _weird_, but it's one of those things that's so undeniably Riley that Ben has gotten used to it.

49. Because here's the thing about Riley- he has this shirt he'll wear, every once in a while that says FREE HUGS in old faded letters. He'll wear it once every few months, and Ben will drop what he's doing, no matter how important, and they'll go down to the basement and spend the whole day watching movies, and Riley will fall asleep curled up next to Ben, and they won't be able to look each other in the eye the next day but Riley will feel better and Ben will feel less guilty because whenever he sees that shirt it's like a reminder that he is kind of a lousy friend.

50. Because the thing is, Riley _needs_ Ben, not in an ew kind of way but in a way that everybody needs a best friend. Riley needs Ben because everybody needs someone to pick up the pieces when they fall apart. Because Riley didn't have the best life, and Ben will do whatever it takes to change that. He'd deny it until his last breath, but Ben is someone Riley couldn't live without.

And maybe that's the best secret of all.

**(fin)**

**I do plan on continuing with these, with one for both Abigail and Ben, but that wasn't my news.**

**As a Christmas gift and an early beginning of my New Year's resolution to write more, anyone who reviews can pick one of the numbers above and I'll write the story behind it. The only exceptions are 19, 29, and 44. (Mostly because I plan on writing those anyway as part of something different.)**

**Happy holidays to everyone! **

**~Cocoa**


	2. Thing the 49th

**This started angsty and somewhere along the line descended into complete and utter fluff. So there's that.**

**This is **_**supposed**_** to be Ben/Abigail, but it's not really mentioned, and if you've got slash goggles fixed to your face there might be some of that. But it wasn't the intention.**

**Also, there's a little bit of Riley/Abby, but it seems that I can't write without it.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own anything. But you already knew that.**

_**Because here's the thing about Riley- he has this shirt he'll wear, every once in a while that says FREE HUGS in old faded letters. He'll wear it once every few months, and Ben will drop what he's doing, no matter how important, and they'll go down to the basement and spend the whole day watching movies, and Riley will fall asleep curled up next to Ben, and they won't be able to look each other in the eye the next day but Riley will feel better and Ben will feel less guilty because whenever he sees that shirt it's like a reminder that he is kind of a lousy friend.**_

**(pagebreak)**

He was wearing that shirt again.

Ben _hated_ that shirt. He had the feeling that it was mostly a joke, but it struck a nerve every time he saw it.

"-so then the pony, it goes flying across the road like the devil's after it, and it runs into this fence. Well, it doesn't hit the fence, but it stops like three feet in front of it, and the fence probably comes up to _here_, which is way too big for this thing to jump over, and meanwhile here we are- Ben and Abby and I-" Riley gestures to Ben automatically as he continues to regale Sadusky's niece with stories while her uncle is in a supposedly-urgent meeting.

Ben's not even totally sure why they're here, really, except that Sadusky called them two hours ago and said that they had a lead on…something, and it was confidential so they couldn't really discuss it on the phone.

Apparently it had been 'Bring your kid to work day'.

Sadusky, who had declared himself 'married to the job', had evidently borrowed a kid.

"-and we're in this limo, because Abby loves to go places in limos, and this pony turns around and goes back across the road, and it nearly hits our car, and Ben's freaking out-"

"I wasn't freaking out, I was trying to get the driver to stop-"

"-and Abigail's trying to get a better look at the pony- and Ben, you were _totally_ freaking out," he continues without a missed beat, wrapping an arm around the little girl and tilting his head toward her conspiratorially.

"He was screaming like a little girl," he informs her solemnly. Sadusky's niece gasps, eyes wide as she whips around to study Ben, before bursting into giggles and burying her face in Riley's side. Ben can feel a scowl forming on his face, and he glares at Riley, who shrugs and continues with his story.

"-so anyway, the driver finally pulls over, and Abby yanks open the door and nearly goes flying into the ditch, because the road's not that great and it's probably close to midnight and meanwhile she's got this beautiful dress on with high heels like _this big_-" he spreads his hands apart before breaking off and digging for his phone. "I've got a picture of it somewhere, hang on." He temporarily extricates the girl from his side as he locates his phone, then almost immediately she is pressed back into his side. He shoots a quick smile at the girl, before flipping through his photo album, making little comments on the assorted photos (including several of his pockets) as he searches for the picture.

Ben loses interest momentarily as he watches how much more relaxed Riley is with someone beside him. It's something that he's noticed lately- more often now with Abigail than ever before.

Riley has a thing for physical affection. He's always been like that, for as long as Ben can remember- to the point where it almost seems weird when the younger man actually keeps his hands to himself.

It's not anything further than platonic, although Ben has caught Riley eying Abigail once or twice. It's obviously not even anything he thinks about- it's automatic. It's as much Riley as the blue eyes and the black Converses. He wouldn't be _Riley_ without it.

It used to set Ben on edge, because nobody in his family was particularly touchy-feely, especially after the divorce. He didn't do feelings, and he didn't do hugs.

He still doesn't do feelings, but he's gotten pretty used to the hugs.

It's part of the reason that Ben really hates the shirt Riley's got on right now, the one that declares **FREE HUGS.** It's probably not a big deal, and more than likely Ben's reading way too much into it, but it always feel s like Riley's trying to say something there. Ben _hates_ that, hates feeling like he's not done enough, because Riley doesn't ask for a lot.

Sadusky's niece breaks out into giggles again, and Ben drags himself away from his somewhat-depressing line of thought and hopes fervently that he hasn't just been insulted. Riley winks at him, and he gets the feeling that he _has_ just been insulted, but he can't bring himself to care.

Riley pats the floor next to him, and Ben hesitates for a second- because he'll only look a little stupid sprawled out on the floor of the FBI building- before sighing and slumping down, shifting uncomfortably on the floor and eying the clump of what he hopes isn't gum to his left.

Riley tilts his head toward Ben, his hair brushing against Ben's ear. "Are you getting the feeling that the 'urgent business' Sadusky called us here for was babysitting?" Ben chuckles, shooting a glance toward the door of Sadusky's office. The agent had ushered them into his room upon arrival and promptly abandoned them with the seven year old girl, who had shyly introduced herself as Maggie and attached herself to Riley's side.

"Yeah, just a bit," he agrees quietly, as the girl gives them a curious look. Riley digs his iPod out of his pocket, fiddles with the controls for a moment, then hands it to Maggie.

"Do you like Phineas and Ferb?" he asks her. Her face lights up, and she pops in the headphones, eyes glued to the screen. Riley grins and ruffles her hair. She snuggles further into his side and lets out a contented sigh, and Riley laughs.

"Good kid," he says, turning to Ben and winding his free arm around to rest across Ben's shoulders. Ben nods, shifting into Riley's grasp almost automatically.

"I really did like that pony," Riley muses absent-mindedly, drumming his fingers against Ben's shoulder. "Chloe loves the thing- she's wanted a pony since she was two."

"Every kid wants a pony," Ben says. "I wanted a horse when I was nine. I was going to name it after the horse Paul Revere rode on-"

"Some history thing, somebody did something and who cares, they're all dead anyway," Riley finishes, dropping his head on Ben's shoulder with a sigh. "This is really boring."

"Sorry about the wait, gentlemen-" Sadusky's door opens and nearly collides with Maggie's feet. He peers around the door, blinking confusedly at the spectacle on the floor, and Maggie looks up with a start.

"Uncle Peter!" Saduksy nearly disappears through the door once more as a blur of brown curls tackles him with a hug. Riley disentangles himself from Ben and hauls the older man up before grinning cheekily at Sadusky.

"Hey, Sadusky, how'd that 'urgent business go'?" Ben can practically hear the air quotes.

"Oh! Um, everything seems to be taken care of. Let me just find that file, and we can get down to business."

"Actually, sir, we have another appointment we should be getting to." From behind Sadusky, Riley's mouth drops, and promptly closes, contenting himself with raising his eyebrows at Ben.

"I understand- let me show you to the door," Sadusky hustles them out the door, solidifying Ben's conclusions that the entire thing was a set-up.

Maggie suddenly appears in front of them, blocking their way quite effectively for a seven year old. She holds out her arms, eyes intent on Riley, and he can see the confusion written across Riley's face before he glances down at his shirt and drops to one knee for a hug.

It's kind of endearing, and the smile on Riley's face is worth the hour of stories that nearly always end unfortunately for Ben.

She lets go after a moment, and Riley straightens as Maggie disappears back into Sadusky's office. He holds his arms open to Sadusky, who stares at him evenly until he drops them and lets the agent continue leading them down the hall.

It isn't until they're outside and Sadusky has left that Riley speaks again. "So, not that wasn't great or anything, but now what?"

"I distinctly remember you saying something about an Indiana Jones marathon?" He can't keep the grin out of his voice as he turns to Riley.

He lets out a rather undignified whoop and engulfs Ben in a quick hug, before grabbing his arm and tugging him toward Riley's bright red car.

"Come on- if we start before Abby gets home we might be able to get past the part with the monkey brains and then she won't freak out and she might even watch some of it with us, even though we all totally know that she's just in it for Harrison Ford, who admittedly is pretty awesome but-"

Ben tunes out and focuses on not getting dragged over as they scramble down the street, Riley's hand still wrapped around his wrist.

Yeah. This is more like it.

**(Fin)**

**It's the third day of the year and I'm already failing at my resolution. Fail.**

**But anyway- I'm working on the rest of these shorts, it's just taking longer than I thought. But I hope you enjoyed!**

**~Cocoa =D**

**(Oh yeah- thanks to machi-tan (who was the first to ask for this fic) and everyone else who picked 49 off the list. It was a ton of fun to write!)**

**(EDIT 1/9 because evidently I fail at writing in present tense. Teehee.)**


	3. Thing the 45th

**This one has given me an absurd amount of trouble, so apologies in advance for anything notably fail-tastic.**

**Disclaimer: Once again, not mine.**

_**(On really bad days when he can't bear to go home, Riley can be found in one of two places: curled up in the apple tree in the back yard, or underneath Ben's ancient desk. He'll have something else with him, a book or his laptop or his iPod or something to distract him. But he'll also have a tiny stuffed pink rabbit, tucked away underneath his arm where he thinks nobody else can see it. Ben hasn't ever had the heart to ask about it, but he knows enough to make some educated guesses.)**_

It was under the desk this time.

He hadn't realized Riley was missing until after he got off the phone with Abigail- she was off shopping with some of her friends from Homeland Security. They had taken a break for lunch, and she had taken the opportunity to check in and make sure there had been no explosions or anything of the sort, which always seemed to happen when she was away.

It was after several minutes of reassurances that nothing was blowing up and everything was perfectly normal (for once) that Ben glanced up and discovered that Riley had gone missing.

As Abigail talked on about the new sweater she had found (dark green, and amazingly cheap for the quality), Ben glanced out the window. He made some noise of agreement, half-listening as he rubbed away at the frost on the window.

Riley's car was still in the driveway, but a quick glance into the living room revealed no sign of the younger man.

Abigail hung up soon after, off to spend some more of their reward from the treasure (the house had scarcely put a dent in it- a shopping spree every now and then didn't bother them in the slightest), and Ben was left wandering the house alone.

He checked the kitchen, half-hoping to find Riley raiding the fridge in search of something to warm up. The kitchen was still, and Ben swiped an apple and headed up the stairs.

On a whim, he checked his phone. Riley had this habit of texting him when he was too lazy to yell, and he would often find the message hours later, after whatever issue had already been resolved.

'No new messages' blinked on his screen, and Ben sighed, sending his own message to Riley's phone.

As he rounded the corner toward Riley's bedroom, it occurred to him that it was entirely likely Riley didn't want to be found. He got into these moods once in a while, where he wouldn't talk to anyone and would curl up somewhere by himself.

Ben checked in Riley's room anyway, and was unsurprised to find him missing. He closed the door gently and retreated down the hall to where he had set up his office.

It had taken him days to set up, what with all the books and files. Riley had helped him organize the books in alphabetical order, while Abigail was away for a relative's wedding. By the time she had gotten back from Germany, the entire office was relatively clean.

The centerpiece of the room was Ben's old desk, an antique that had belonged to his great-grandfather. It was quite possibly one of Ben's favorite parts of the house, along with the tea tables that he and Abigail both treasured.

It was also one of the places where he found Riley whenever he got into one of his moods.

Ben peered through the glass panes of the door, just barely able to make out a figure curled up underneath the desk. He rapped on the door lightly, and Riley lifted his head sharply, nearly banging it on the underside of the drawer.

He caught Ben's eye, and Ben opened the door, feeling oddly like an intruder in his own place.

"Hey," Riley said quietly, not-quite retreating from his spot.

"Hey," Ben said from the doorway. Riley squinted up at him, and Ben sighed and crossed the room to his chair. Riley watched him, shifting closer to the wall to avoid getting his fingers smashed.

As he moved, Ben caught a flash of pink out of the corner of his eye, and the puzzle pieces clicked together in front of him.

He managed not to say anything about it, just sat while Riley fiddled with his iPod until the faint sound emanating from the headphones went silent. There was a moment of quiet before Riley looked up.

"You alright?" Ben asked quietly. Riley stretched his arms out, arching his back like a cat before settling back with a sigh.

"'Yeah," he said. "'M fine." He shot Ben what was undoubtedly supposed to be a winning smile. Ben stared at him evenly. The smile faded, and Riley ducked his head, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "Ben, I'm fine. I can't have a bad day every once in a while?"

He had a point. They all had their days, where Abigail would snarl at Ben and curl up with a bucket of popcorn to watch a movie or three, or where Ben would lock himself in his office and bury himself in the driest book he could find until his head was swimming with facts and figures of people long gone.

It just was worrying when Ben found Riley tucked under his desk three times in the past two weeks.

"You want anything?" Ben settled on finally.

"I want a lot of things," he replied automatically. "As the good philosopher Jagger once said, 'you can't always get what you want'." Ben snorted, and Riley looked up once more, a more genuine smile starting to creep across his face.

"Seriously, Ben. Give me an hour, and then we can go on our merry way and forget this entire thing happened. We can go throw Abigail's nice white shirt in with my red socks if you want." He was obviously fishing for a distraction if he was suggesting something so dangerous.

"What's the rabbit for?" he said suddenly. Riley's head snapped around so fast he nearly smacked it on the side of the desk.

"Wha?"

"The rabbit. I was just wondering…forget it," he finished lamely.

Riley was silent. Ben was just about to make his escape when he spoke.

"It was my little sister's. She was seven when she-" he fell silent abruptly, and Ben didn't need to hear the end of the sentence. He knew enough.

After a long pause Riley put his headphones back in and curled up under the desk, rabbit tucked to his chest. Ben stretched out in his chair with a sigh, drumming his fingers on the armrest absent-mindedly.

(pagebreak)

Abigail returned home two hours later, humming cheerfully over her purchases. She had nearly walked past the office when she paused in the doorway.

Riley was slumped on the floor under the desk, looking hideously uncomfortable but completely unwilling to move. Ben was stretched back in his chair, head tucked down to his chest.

It had been another bad day, then.

A moment later she returned with two blankets, which were draped over both of her sleeping boys. Closing the door behind her, she made her way downstairs to throw her new jeans through the wash.

The washer had a pair of bright red socks inside, tucked neatly under her favorite white shirt. She rolled her eyes and removed the offending items before shooting another glance upstairs.

Yes, it had been a bad day, but they'd be fine.

They always were.

**_(Fin)_**

**I'm kind of liking this update-on-Monday thing... we'll see if I can do it more than twice in a row.**

**Much thanks to: LoremIpsum, (it won't let me insert your name here, not sure why, you know who you are, but thank you anyway!), Feathers Fall Like Snow, and LiveongLoveLife-xDataRulezx for requesting this fic!**

**~Cocoa =D**


	4. Thing the 12th

**Woo, another request-fic! **

**This ended up being a prequel to my other story, Embraces. So if you've read that, awesome. If not, go read it. (Please?)**

**These requests are starting to get lives of their own…stupid plot bunnies. *grumbles***

**Disclaimer: Still don't own. And I definitely reference ****save changes to normal****'s **_**Closed Break**_**. And also How I Met Your Mother. But that's not quite as important.**

_**Moniker**_

_**(For a while he knew Riley as Jamie, right around when they met in college. He switched to James shortly after, and Riley after graduation, but every once in a while he'll still slip up and call the younger man 'Jamie')  
**_

He was pretty sure Ben had a concussion.

Actually, he was pretty sure Ben had a lot worse than a concussion, and he was fairly certain that the dull throb in the back of his skull was a concussion of his own, but one of the thoughts that kept coming back around was that _Ben had a concussion._

He couldn't actually _see_ Ben, so it was kind of hard to tell, but Riley figured something had to be wrong. Because A) Ben wasn't moving, B) Ben wasn't taking charge, and C) Ben kept calling him Jamie.

Nobody had called Riley _Jamie_ since he was twenty.

True, Ben sometimes slipped up when he wasn't paying attention- he had done it earlier today.

They had been in this cave, looking for something. Riley couldn't remember what, which should probably be more worrying than it currently was. But they had come across this puzzle, and they had to twist all of these things to face a different way, all at the same time or fairly close or it wouldn't work.

And Riley had gotten his fairly easily, because he wasn't that strong but once you figured out how the thing spun it wasn't that difficult.

And Ben was having trouble with his, and he yelled and Riley scrambled over to help him.

It hadn't occurred to him until just now that Ben hadn't said Riley.

(dundundun)

_Technically, he was enrolled under his real name- Riley James Poole- for the first time in a few years, but he had taken down the tag on his dorm that said 'Riley' and replaced it with a Post-it that said 'Jamie'. _

_Yeah, it was kind of a kid's name, but he liked it better than Riley, and besides, it wasn't like he was going to become a social butterfly or anything._

_His roommate was kind of a jerk, but he could deal. It turned out there were idiots everywhere, even at one of the highest-ranked schools in the country. The important thing was that he get a degree, because his computer skills were great, but they weren't technically legal._

_Besides, he told himself, he was still young enough to pull off a kid's name like Jamie. He was seventeen- ok, he had lied a little on the application, but he had graduated early, it still counted- but he looked closer to fourteen, as his roommate had been so kind to point out._

_As long as he kept his head down and his mouth shut, he'd be fine._

_(NT)_

Ben wasn't moving.

This was worrying, because moving is generally a good thing to do, even after you've fallen off a small cliff. Moving meant you weren't stuck in a crumpled heap at the bottom.

Riley really wanted to make sure Ben was alright, means it would be a huge problem if he wasn't, because _oh my gosh Ben isn't moving and Ben isn't saying anything and Ben's always okay why isn't he okay?_ and it was really hard for him to keep focus when his head kept going thump-thump-thump.

He swung in his harness slightly and hissed as the straps dug into his ribs. The motion made him kind of dizzy, and he decided that doing it again probably wasn't the greatest idea.

He flipped open his phone again and checked for service, as if the little bars would magically appear if he stared at the screen for long enough.

Ben wasn't taking charge.

This was also worrying, because Ben always took charge. He was a take-charge kind of guy. Granted, one gets a little bit of leeway when falling off a cliff, but it was his own stupid fault that he wasn't hooked into his harness because _what sort of idiot unhooks himself that close to a cliff oh my god_.

He peered over the rim of the cliff, leaning as far to the side as he dared and pretending that the sudden drop didn't make him want to start panicking.

Oh.

Yep, that was a pretty big drop.

He flipped open his phone again.

(dundundun)

_The guy- Ben- was in three of his classes. It was kind of weird, because he was at least a decade older than Jamie and already had his degree in something or other- it never came up in conversation because honestly he didn't really care._

_But they were friends. They were actually roommates for a semester, when Ben's girlfriend dumped him and Jamie's roommate finally got expelled for nearly blowing up the cafeteria. _

_They got along pretty great, but Ben was practically old enough to be his dad (even if his brother was older), and honestly, he was doing pretty good at the whole 'friends' thing. Still, Ben was probably the only guy he could see himself staying in touch with a couple years after they all got out with their diplomas._

_He never even mentioned the treasure until a week or two before they graduated, when their entire Nineteenth Century America class went out for drinks after the final (Riley still wasn't technically twenty-one, but Tony ordered drinks all around and the bartender was way too busy to bother checking everyone's IDs.)_

_Long story short, he and Ben got fairly tipsy, and Ben went off on a little monologue about some treasure and some secret society and a chick named Charlotte and it was all a little weird, but he could tell it was important to Ben so he nodded along dutifully and flirted subtly with the girl two tables over._

_He never figured Ben would call him up eighteen months later with a job offer._

_(NT)_

Ben kept calling him Jamie.

This was extremely worrying.

Because, _yeah_ he slipped up sometimes, just like Riley had to stop himself from calling Abby 'Abbers'. (Heck, he was surprised she let him get away with Abby.)

But he didn't do it often, and he nearly always caught himself.

Now it was like he was talking to a different person.

"-and Professor Schevatsky kicked Barney out of class, because he was flirting with her TA- or maybe it wasn't her TA. Jamie? Wait. Jamie, you here?"

He could remember Schevatsky, but he couldn't remember _Riley?_

Worse, this definitely didn't sound like ramblings over the treasure they were supposed to be finding. This sounded like reminisces from their college days.

He couldn't decide which was worse.

"Yeah," he called, steadfastly ignoring the pain in his ribs.

"What's going on?"

"What's the last thing you remember?" He can practically hear the gears in Ben's head working.

"We were doing…something. Were we at a party? You dragged me to a party, didn't you? Jamie, we've got finals in two weeks."

This was bad. This was very very bad.

"Ben."

"Yeah?"

"What day is today?"

"Wednesday."

"What's the date?"

"…The eighteenth. Of May. Finals start next week. Jamie….are you drunk?"

He couldn't breathe- he didn't know whether to laugh or to cry.

"I'm not drunk, Ben." The fact that his words were starting to slur probably didn't help his case. God, he was tired. "Ben, something happened. You've got to trust me. Are you hurt?"

He could hear Ben moving, and the instant cry of pain answered Riley's question rather effectively.

"What-"

"I know. I know, Ben," he said. "Just don't move. I'm trying to get help."

He fumbled for his phone, glanced at the service, and swore.

"I don't have any service."

"I do. Why is my phone set for two-thousand ten?" Riley blinked, then pushed off from the wall to stare down at Ben.

"You have service?"

"I always have service. Your phone sucks."

Ah, Ben. Even when concussed and possibly bleeding out, his sense of humor remained.

"Call nine one-one."

"…Where's the eleven key?"

"Press the one twice, Ben."

"Right. What do I tell them?"

"Tell them Ben Gates and Riley Poole are trapped in the Clarksville caves. Our car is parked outside the entrance. I think we're going to need an ambulance. Tell them to call Peter Sadusky." He listened as Ben carefully relayed the information, pausing to clarify with Riley on several points. He heard Ben end the call and tried to calculate how long they had until rescue arrived.

"Your last name is Poole, isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Why'd you tell 'em Riley?"

"It's my name, Ben."

"I thought your name was Jamie."

"My middle name is James."

"But I thought-"

"I know, Ben," he sighed. "I know." There was a long pause. "Ben, are you okay?"

"'Hurts," he muttered. "What's happening?"

"You fell off a cliff. What hurts?"

"Why'd I do somethin' like that? Everything."

"Because you're convinced that there's treasure in here somewhere."

"There's always treasure. Like Charlotte."

"Yeah. Just like Charlotte."

"Did I tell you about Charlotte, Jamie?"

"Yeah, Ben. You did."

"Oh." He went quiet again, and Riley kept picturing him sprawled out on the ground and he couldn't find the energy to make sure he's okay. He hung there, his harness making worrying creaking noises and straining his ears for sirens.

"Tell me anyway, Ben. Don't stop talking."

"Ok. When I was ten, my granddad told me this story about…" Riley's heard the story a dozen times, and lived through parts of it, so he listened half-heartedly through the growing fogginess in his mind.

It's a few moments until he realized Ben had trailed off, and he squinted back downwards in the general direction of Ben's voice. "Ben?"

"Yeah, Jamie?"

"What's wrong?"

"'M really tired."

"Ben, don't fall asleep. You've got a concussion. Keep talking. What's your dad's name? Your mom's?" Silence. "Ben, what's _my _name?"

"Jamie…"

"Ok. Ok. Who was the first president?" Silence. "Come on, Ben. Don't do this. First president. Cherry tree, crossed the Delaware." Silence. "Ben?"

Silence.

"Ben!"

He could hear sirens blaring, and it kind of made his head pound but he honestly couldn't remember being happier in his entire life.

People made their way toward them, cautiously but way too slowly for Riley, who urged them past him and down toward Ben without a second thought. It's only after Ben is hooked into a rope and brought back to the surface that Riley allowed himself to be disentangled and pulled up out of the cave, where he promptly collapsed at the brightness outside.

Everything after that was a little fuzzy. He vaguely remembered seeing Ben being loaded into an ambulance, and yelling for him, and Ben not moving, and seeing his body twisted in ways it shouldn't be before a group of people surrounded him.

His ribs were killing him, and his head was swimming, and he couldn't get enough air, even though they were out of the cave and _why isn't there any air what's happening to me where's Ben?_ and he might have struggled but then they put on an oxygen mask and something pricked his arm and after that everything was white.

(NT)

_He's working in an office doing stupid projects that a monkey with a computer could do, and it's only been three weeks but he already hates it. This is his third job in sixth months, and he literally can't afford not to do it, but it really sucks._

_The phone rings twice, the code for a personal call, and he stands up in his seat to shoot a smile towards Sadie, the person-who-manages-calls, before settling back and picking up the phone._

_"You've reached Riley, leave a message at the beep. Beeep!"_

_"Jamie?" He sits up so fast papers nearly go flying._

_"Ben?"_

_"Yeah. What happened to Jamie?"_

_"I'm kind of going by Riley now. I figure since it's actually my name and all, I might as well."_

_"Ok. Listen, can I buy you lunch sometime this week?"_

_"I'm flattered, Ben, but you're not really my type."_

_"Shut up, Jam- Riley. You remember Charlotte?"_

_"Of course."_

_"I think we found her."_

_"We?"_

_"I've got some help. But listen- we need someone that's good with a computer."_

_"As awesome as that sounds, I kind of need this job. Unless that treasure involves Ramen noodles."_

_"We can work something out- just meet me for lunch."_

_"You in town?"_

_"Never left."_

_"Cool- I'll meet you at that one place in twenty minutes. The one that has the great chicken sandwich?"_

_"Isn't it a little early for a lunch break?" Riley glanced at his watch. 10:07. Oops._

_"Who cares- this job sucks. Meet me there?"_

_"Sure."_

_"You're buying?"_

_"If you insist."_

_"Awesome. Bye, Ben."_

_"Bye, Jamie."_

_"Riley," he said._

_But Ben had already hung up._

_**(Fin)**_

**Heheh…I feel kind of bad now. Poor Ben. Heck, poor Riley.**

**I'm having an absurd amount of fun writing these requests.**

**But they're definitely going to take a while.**

**So sorry 'bout that. But hoped you enjoyed!**


	5. Thing the 3rd

**Here comes yet another request- this one gave me immense amounts of trouble, because I can't seem to write 'funny' without it being OOC or obnoxious/dumb. But anyway.**

**Also, this is pathetically late. That whole 'writing more' thing isn't working as great as I hoped it would. :P**

**Disclaimer: In case you haven't noticed, it's still not mine. If it was, there'd be more Riley being awesome.**

_**(Riley refused to look at Ben until he made a midnight run to the nearest gas station for a six-pack of Mt. Dew, because they had work to do and Riley refused to step foot in Bens apartment until the abomination that was Mellow Yellow was eradicated. Ian was furious. Shaw laughed until he cried.)**_

Riley was quite possibly Ben's best friend, but sometimes he'd swear that the kid only hung around to annoy him.

"Riley, come on. Get out of the hallway and we can work something out. Please." Riley, from his spot on the floor, didn't look up from his cell.

"Shaw, tell Ben that I'm not moving until he meets my demands," he said to the floor, stretching up against the wall before slumping back down with a sigh.

Ben glanced at Shaw.

Shaw raised an eyebrow at Ben.

Ben sighed.

Riley smirked.

Ian threw something at the wall.

The people in the apartment next door swore loudly.

Ben sighed.

Riley grinned.

Shaw grinned.

Ben went to find his keys.

This night had started off so simply.

(NT)

_"Got any food?"_

_For how much Shaw and Riley usually detested each other, it was bizarre how often they were on the same wavelength._

_It was close on nine o' clock, and they had been working for roughly two hours, plotting the projected course of a ship (hopefully the Charlotte) wrecked up near Alaska roughly two hundred years ago._

_Ian brought up several interesting questions, such as why she was virtually unheard of in old shipping logs, and what she was doing over by Alaska, when it didn't even become United States property until almost a century later. Ben refuted them as best he could, such as if she was carrying a treasure of untold value he wouldn't want it on the record, and that he didn't actually know, but this was the best bet they had right now and if Ian gave him an hour, he could probably come up with a better answer._

_Shaw was calling in favors for Ian, which in itself was mildly frightening- Ian had a long list of people who owed him favors- but quite possibly the creepiest part was the glare he'd give the general room when the conversation wasn't going quite as he expected it to go. He reserved his best glares for Riley, who was sprawled across the couch, studiously ignoring him._

_Riley was running calculations for several different things simultaneously. As far as Ben could tell, it was a tracker model for the place the wrecked ship could hypothetically land ,along with tabs for a budget sheet, a site blasting a bizarre mix of music that went from 70's rock to techno, and something over in the corner that looked suspiciously like Tetris._

_Ben was just looking for the book he had put down somewhere (and completely forgotten about until now) that was fairly likely to have something about ships during the Revolutionary period when Riley unplugged a headphone and shot Ben a look._

_"Seriously, Ben. You said that there was going to be food provided," he reminded Ben._

_"I'm kind of busy right now."_

_"It's not that I want you to cook. You suck at cooking," he informed Ben, stretching on the couch and pushing his laptop off his lap. "Just tell me if there's anything good in the fridge or if I need to call for Chinese."_

_"Monica left some lasagna here last night- try that," Ben said, shifting a pile of books onto the floor._

_Riley stood up, stretched, dug behind the pillow, and dropped a book in front of Ben before making his way toward the kitchen._

_"Have I mentioned lately that your girlfriend is amazing?" He called over his shoulder as he peered into the fridge. Ian snorted._

_Shaw swore violently into the phone and hung up, snapping the phone closed violently. He swore under his breath in something that didn't quite sound like English before turning his attention to Ben. "Got any food?"_

_Ben pointed toward the kitchen, now fully engrossed in his book. Riley kept up a running commentary as the noise in the kitchen increased._

_"I mean, seriously, she can actually cook. I wish I could cook. Takeout isn't that great on a budget. You want some lasagna? 'S in the microwave. Ben, do you have anything to drink? Shaw, there's beer behind the milk. No, I don't know why it's there. But anyway, Monica is awesome. She can _cook._ And she's hot. Except she's kind of old. No offense. I mean, not _old_, but like…your age. Which is old. Kind of. Shut up, Shaw._ _Wait a minute…ew. _Ew._ What is- Ben?"_

_Ben glanced up as Riley stormed out of the kitchen and planted himself right in front of Ben, a can of pop in hand. "What?"_

_"What is _this_?" Ben blinked and rubbed his eyes._

_"Pop?"_

_"This is Mellow Yellow."_

_"..okay…"_

_"Ben. _Mellow. Yellow._"_

_"I don't see where you're going with this."_

_"Mellow Yellow is disgusting!" he exploded, shaking the can for emphasis before tossing it away haphazardly. Ben winced and hoped desperately that the can wouldn't explode over his newly-cleaned carpet._

_"Then don't drink it," he suggested helpfully. Riley spluttered at him for a while._

_"I-It's-Ben," he wailed. "Mellow Yellow is __**awful.**__Mountain Dew is where it's at."_

_"That's ridiculous," Ian commented from where he was spinning around idly in Ben's office chair. "They're essentially the same thing."_

_Riley looked at him._

_Ian looked back._

_Ben sighed._

_Shaw walked out of the kitchen, lasagna in hand. "He's got a point. Mellow Yellow sucks."_

_Riley gestured wildly at Shaw. "I hate to agree with __**Shaw**__, of all people, but…yeah."_

_…It had all gone downhill from there._

(NT)

"Ben, care to explain to me _why_ I'm funding this expedition if we keep getting sidetracked with stupid things like this?" Ian asked Ben. Ben sighed into his phone as he rounded a corner and bumped down the street, looking for something open this late at night.

"Riley's a certified genius. He doesn't _act_ like it, but he is. Trust me." It was true- every so often Riley would make an offhand comment that would reference something way over Ben's head, and it would make Ben have to sit back and reevaluate the enigma that was Riley James Poole once more.

"That still doesn't explain why you're doing this."

Ben sighed again as he turned into the third gas station of the night. "Do you know anyone else that's as good with a computer?"

"I can name three off the top of my head."

"I've got to go. I'll be back soon." He shut his phone off before Ian could answer.

He nodded at the cashier, who had hastily tried to hide her magazine under the counter and look the least bit interested in her surroundings. Ignoring her flustered expression, which would have brought a grin to his face if he wasn't so exhausted, he trudged to the back of the store toward the freezers.

Some pop song played faintly in the background, and Ben hummed along thoughtlessly as he skimmed the shelves for the green label that was the key to getting him back into his apartment.

His phone buzzed, and he flipped it open. "Yeah?"

There was no response, and he frowned and glanced down at the screen. One new Text.

…He hated it when that happened.

**Leaving. Have something for me by tomorrow or I find a new technician. -Ian.**

Ben stared at the text for a moment or two, unimpressed by Ian's threats. Ian was kind of a jerk sometimes, and tended to be more openly hostile toward Riley than anyone else on the team, but Ben was confident that nothing would amount of it.

…At least, he hoped.

Ian had a _lot_ of people that owed him favors.

Ben shook away that mildly-disturbing train of thought with some difficulty and resumed his search for Mountain Dew.

(NT)

_Riley had taken his lasagna and his laptop and camped out in the hallway outside of Ben's apartment. Surprisingly, Shaw had also taken his lasagna and his supplies into the hallway outside Ben's apartment._

_Ben resigned himself to the fact that nothing was going to get settled tonight._

_Ian, however, was not amused._

_"Shaw, this is stupid. I'm not paying you for this."_

_"You haven't paid me yet," Shaw informed Ian coolly, shoveling lasagna into his mouth. Ian swore._

_"Riley. I'll go get some pop tomorrow morning. Can we just finish this please?"_

_"Shaw, did you hear something?" Riley asked his partner-in-crime innocently. Shaw smirked._

_"I'd take that as a 'no'," he informed Ben. "'Serves you right, anyway. That stuff's garbage."_

_"It's the same thing!" Ian protested. Ben wisely kept his mouth shut. Shaw leveled his gaze on Ian, who held up for almost a solid minute before throwing his hands up in disgust and going to raid Ben's fridge. Ben privately mourned the loss of his lasagna before returning to his book._

_All was quiet for a few moments before Riley's voice rang out from the hallway. "So, did you ever hear about when Ben tried to ask out Monica?"_

_Oh, this could only end badly._

_"Riley," he called, twisting on the couch to get a better look at the door. "Don't." Riley peered around the doorframe, looking positively wicked. He looked up at Ben, grinned, and turned back, presumably to Shaw._

_"Sorry. I thought I heard something. But then I realized- the person I thought I heard doesn't have any Mountain Dew. My mistake. So. Where was I?'_

(NT)

He finally found a six-pack of Dew tucked at the bottom of the last freezer in the row, and tried not to look pathetically happy over his find.

The cashier, who still hadn't picked her magazine up from where it had fallen onto the floor, was looking enquiringly at Ben's purchase, and with a yawn he pushed the pack across the counter and dug for his wallet. She went through the motions automatically and bagged his pop, snapping her gum and shooting him a tired smile. He nodded and paid without a word, and she murmured her thanks as he headed out the door.

The little bell above the door tinkled merrily as Ben left, and he winced at its cheerfulness as he trudged back through the snow to his car. It was too cold and far too late for this. All he wanted was to get home and see if he could snag himself that last piece of lasagna or if the others had polished it off while he was gone.

His car bumped quietly along the road, the pop song from the gas station looping in his mind endlessly, and he sighed as his car made a particularly unsettling sound. He glanced at the gas meter to find the needle perilously close to empty. Ben sighed again and made a not-quite-legal U-turn to head back in the direction of the gas station.

Tonight just wasn't his night.

(NT)

Riley was noticeably absent from the hallway outside his apartment, which was problematic, because in the time between Ben grabbing his coat and Ben leaving his apartment his key had gone missing. Shaw was also missing, which was less problematic, because it meant that Ben didn't have to feed him anymore.

There was a note on his front door.

_Ben-_

_Assuming point is made. You took too long. Ian left about ten minutes ago and took Shaw._

_Model is finished, on CD on your coffee table. Tell Ian he owes me- I've got to pay rent before my landlady kicks me out._

_That Mellow Yellow better be gone by the time I come back._

_Seriously, Ben, that stuff sucks._

_~Riley._

_P.S. Oh yeah, your key is under the mat._

Ben chuckled softly and let himself into his apartment to find the CD where it was promised. He made a beeline for the fridge, where he promptly found another note.

_Shaw was going to take the last piece of lasagna, but I distracted him with the cake in your freezer. Never let it be said I'm not a good friend._

_Oh yeah, tell Monica thanks. That was great lasagna. ~R_

Ben popped the last slice into the microwave and grabbed his book from the living room, sitting down to finish off his night in peace.

His phone buzzed.

**Hey, that pop can's still probably somewhere in your living room. Just an FYI. ~R**

From somewhere in the living room, he heard the unmistakable sound of a pop can exploding.

Tonight _really_ wasn't his night.

**_(Fin.)_**

**Flashbacks are fun.**

**So is Sims 3.**

**(That's one of the reasons I'm slow. The other is Glee (!). And the other is I'm lazy.)**

**Thanks for the requests and the continuing reviews. They brighten my day and make me feel all fuzzy inside.**

**~Cocoa =D**


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